Research Roundup

In Debtors' Prison””Prisoners' Accumulation of Debt as a Barrier to Reentry, CLASP and Brennan Center authors outline how financial penalties and the application of unrealistic child support rules undermines post-prison rehabilitation, undercuts long-term support for the children themselves, and prevents reintegration into society.

Like too many property tax relief programs, the tax savings from the Florida "Save Our Homes" program, which may be expanded by a vote next Tuesday, have gone overwhelmingly to the richest state residents according to a new report to be published in the Journal of Real Estate Research. The result has been a tax bonanza for owners of multi-million dollar homes. Similarly, a new study by the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute argues that property tax cut proposals by Georgia political leaders would come at the expense of working families who would likely see higher sales taxes even as richer residents would see tax cuts.

Unlocking America: Why and How to Reduce America's Prison Population, published by the JFA Institute, details the explosive growth in prison populations from just 196,000 in 1970 to 1.5 million in state and federal prisons today-- with an additional 750,000 in local jails. The report emphasizes that there is little evidence that this mass incarceration reduces crime and outlines recommendations for changing current sentencing laws and correctional policies to reduce incarceration rates.